Little Charlie & the Nightcats

One of the hardest-working barroom blues bands on the West Coast, Little Charlie & the Nightcats started out in the mid-'70s, began recording around a decade later, and just kept on going strong. The two constants over the Nightcats' long history were co-founders Little Charlie Baty (guitar) and Rick Estrin (harmonica, lead vocals). Baty's biting licks were the perfect complement to Estrin's devil-may-care swagger and wryly humorous, storytelling lyrics, and that combo was enough to maintain a decades-long career as a popular live act all across the blues circuit. The band's music relies chiefly on electric urban blues of the Chicago variety, but mixes in bits of many other compatible styles, including early rock & roll, soul, surf, swing, jump blues, and Western swing. Charlie Baty was attending U.C.-Berkeley and studying mathematics when he formed Little Charlie & the Nightcats with Rick Estrin in 1976. Initially, both of them were harmonica players and singers, but Baty happened to play guitar as well, and he made the switch permanently when Estrin established himself as the stronger of the two. Joined by bassist Jay Peterson and drummer Dobie Strange, the band moved to Sacramento and made a living playing the local blues clubs. Eventually, they sent a demo tape to the prominent blues label Alligator, and despite the unsolicited nature of their submission, Alligator immediately signed them after catching their live act. After just over a decade in existence, Little Charlie & the Nightcats issued their debut album, All the Way Crazy, in 1987. The record helped establish them on the blues festival and club circuits, and they began touring the country extensively, playing a number of international venues as well. Follow-ups Disturbing the Peace (1988) and The Big Break...